Razorfly
Information frame|left Razorflies are generally regarded as an overlooked species, despite their importance in the processes of decomposition. Few sapients consider their danger, and these sapients are not commonly careful around the flies. Razorflies feed on detritus, and are most commonly seen on dead fauna. Here they not only feed but lay the eggs of their young. Razorflies are very similar to Earth flies, both in behavior and generally in appearance; however, razorflies developed six wings as opposed to a fly's four, with one pair remaining as flight wings; one pair becoming halteres; and the final pair becoming a protective, beetle-like elytra (wing cases), which have razor-sharp edges. When threatened, a razorfly will spread its elytra, showing them to a foe in order to try and intimidate it into leaving. If this doesn't work, they will take to the sky if possible and buzz past the opponent, grazing their skin over and over with their gouging covers. If flight is not possible at the time, the razorfly will instead dip its body in the direction of the intruder, to try and cut it in that manner instead. If a swarm is instigated into doing this, it can spell disaster for the unlucky traveler. No known species of razorwings (the group of insectoids the razorfly belongs to) on any of the planets they inhabit has been known to reach sapience. Statistics *'Species Type:' Cold-blooded Aerial Insect *'Lifestyle:' Solitary Detrivore with Swarming Tendencies *'Hunt/Forage Success Rate:' 100% Scavenge (99.8% success rate) *'Armor:' Razorflies have little in the way of armor, outside of their exoskeletons. Although this exoskeleton protects them from some same-sized predators, it does not protect them against all of them, and is easily destroyed under the feet of much larger and heavier creatures. *'Defenses:' Razorflies combine their armor and weapons for their defensive tactics, however they also will group into swarms in order to maximize the damage their elytra can do. When in swarms like these, they can bring down many of their foes...then they have yet another body to lay their eggs into. *'Weapons:' The only true weapons the razorflies possess are their razor-edged elytra, which they use to graze opponents and cut them. When in swarms, these attacks can become deadly. Their mouths are capable of biting, but this is only a secondary attack, and is generally used when their elytra are incapable of opening up (like when being held closed). *'Tools:' Razorflies are incapable of manipulating objects. *'Method of Eating:' First, the adult razorfly will sense the aroma of rotting flesh from up to several miles away using their very sensitive, feathery antennae. With this, they'll take to the air if they're grounded, and fly towards this scent. Once the point of origin has been located, the razorfly will land. From here, they'll taste the rotting flesh with their feet and walk around for a bit before lowering their heads to the meat, tearing off a chunk with their mandibles; these are designed to be only able to tear off a chunk size that the razorfly can immediately handle. They then masticate the food with their sideways-opening jaws, and finally swallow it into their esophagus, where it travels into their fore-gut. Eventually from here, it travels into the mid-gut, where it is broken down by the stomach acids, and then finally into the epigaster. Any non-digested food particles are excreted by the anus on the opposite end. Larvae have the same process of eating, but do not need to find the decaying matter; they are born upon it and spend their entire larval stage on it. Pupae do not eat. *'Reproductive Rate:' Sexual maturity is reached after 3 weeks. Reproduce only when they find a rotting carcass in which to lay their eggs -- at these locations, mating swarms are formed. *'Gestation:' Gestation is amazingly short, only taking about half a day before the eggs are laid into the carcass. *'Offspring Incubation:' 1 week until eggs hatch after being laid. *'Number of Offspring:' 300 per litter. *'Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity):' 60% -- most flies reach maturity, but many are eaten once they reach adulthood by specialized predators. Those young who do die are mostly eaten by other predators specializing in eating the larvae. *'Singular/Plural/Possessive:' Razorfly/Razorflies/Razorfly Category:Somarinoa's Content Category:Kyklos Galaxy Metaseries Category:Amalgam Online Category:Alternate Fantasy Category:Monster Space Category:Species Category:Non-Sapient Species Category:Extraterrestrials Category:Arthropods Category:Detritivores Category:Original Content Category:Original Aliens Category:Illustrated Extraterrestrials